The Interrogation
by OwlIs
Summary: The transition between leaving the LAPD and joining NCIS is a little bit bumpier than Deeks expected. As it turns out, the LAPD like Deeks more than they let on. Contains major refences to "Spoils of War" and "Frozen Lake."
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own anything except Agent Nerring. It's a bit AU since we all love Deeks for sticking with the LAPD despite their unwarrented dislike/hatred of him.**

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"Do you love Kensi Blye?"

The question of the decade. It had been the question Deeks had been grappling with since he had become partners with the skilled agent, and Kensi had had her own conflicted feelings for almost as long. It was the question Deeks would have gladly answered if it had been asked by a certain brunette with mix-matched eyes.

But it was Tom Nerring from LAPD Internal Affairs across the table, and Kensi was in OPS with the rest of the team, all ignorant of the interrogation going on just a few rooms away.

After nearly an hour with Agent Nerring, that question nearly broke Deeks into answering truthfully.

Deeks sat back in his chair, maintaining a cool exterior while trying to tame the raging storm inside of him. "I'm not answering that question."

"Detective,"

"You said it yourself; the only reason you're here is because of my decision to leave the LAPD. I'm flattered about this interrogation, really. I know you all love me over there and I more than expected you all to mourn your loss for a week or so, but I think _this_ is a bit much."

"And I'm trying to determine if your ability to make this decision has been compromised."

Deeks smirked. "You don't think I'm all 'right in the head' to make my own choices? 'Cause in all honesty, I think _you_ would be more successful declaring a mirror to be incompetant."

Agent Nerring's brown eyes flicked with anger. One could tell that the dark haired Agent was not used to dealing with personal insults. He needed another approach. Agent Nerring casually flipped through Deeks's file before finally settling on one. "Tell me about Afghanistan."

Deeks shrugged as his heart raced. "What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me about your part in the recovery of Agent Blye."

Bright, painful memories flashed through Deeks's mind. "I was put in charge of interrogating a Muslim cleric, Mulla Muhammad."

The slight waver in his voice was slight, but Agent Nerring picked it up. "While your other two team members, Agents Callen and Hanna, left to look for Agent Blye?"

"Correct."

"Why weren't you the one to look for your partner?"

The same question Deeks had asked when Sam had first made the request. The answer sent a shot of guilt through his veins. "We needed to have someone find out how the cleric was tied to the Taliban that took Ke-Agent Blye. In the end, it turned out that the cleric was a valuable hostage. The rescue might never have happened if someone hadn't stayed."

"Was the cleric, Mulla Muhammad, cooperative?"

Flashes of the blind priest made Deeks clench his fists under the table. The man was far from innocent, but he hadn't deserved what Deeks had done to him. "No."

"Then how did you persuade him to tell you that he was the father of a high ranking Taliban member?"

"His passion for refusing to give any information about the Taliban told Sergeant Makar and I that he probably had a close, family tie. I mean, the guy was blind and living in a dump. It wasn't like he was getting sent loads of money for secrecy or anything."

"So you made an assumption?"

Deeks managed a smile. "I'm quite gifted at making assumptions if I do say so myself. Are you gifted at anything other than asking dumb questions?"

Agent Nerring sat back in his chair, biting his inner cheek to hold back a retort. "You said it was his passion that you derived the assumption from."

"Have you been listening to me at all?"

"What made him act so passionately?"

For a horrible moment, Deeks froze. He knew the answer, but he could _never_ admit it. Nobody on the planet knew what he had done to the priest other than Sergeant Makar. Not even Kensi. "It was the way he refused to reveal any information."

"Anyone can refuse to answer a question Detective. That doesn't mean anything other than that the suspect is invested in the subject." Agent Nerring pointed out. "What made him act so passionately?"

"We cooked food in front of him." Deeks blurted. "It had been hours since he had eaten and we-I made food to try to convince him to talk."

"Doesn't that sound a little like torture?"

"I know torture Agent Nerring. You can look in your file and see that I have the dental records to prove it." Deeks snapped.

"So it was just the food then?"

"Yes."

...No.

Deeks remembered Afghanistan like it had happened five minutes ago; looking at the picture of Kensi with her throat slit, eyes closed. Hetty's words echoed in his mind. "Agent Callen has sent us a photograph of Agent Blye that appears...as if she's been killed." Everything was a blur after that. All he could remember was the rage and guilty streaming through his body, knowing that _he_ was the reason she had been sent away in the first place.

If he hadn't made that dinner reservation, if he hadn't have asked her out for "tacos", if he hadn't followed her home... Hetty wouldn't have felt the need to separate them for gettting too close.

It was if he had watched someone else scream at the blind man, punch him to the ground, put a gun to his head, and waterboard him. All Deeks felt was the need for revenge.

He had returned to his senses only after the water was almost all poured down the cleric's throat. Because he realized that he was becoming his father.

Agent Nerring leaned forward. "So how far would you have gone, hypothetically, to get answers from Mulla Muhammad if cooking the food hadn't worked? How far would you have gone to get your partner back?"

"I can't answer that."

"Why not?"

"Because it never went further."

"Really?"

"I have morals." Deeks nearly winced at the statement- the same one he had made when he had first entered Afghanistan. But Agent Nerring seemed convinced at the conviction in his voice. "I can't tell you exactly how far I could have gone without it actually happening."

Agent Nerring nodded, jotting his response down on some paper.

But the real question was; if he could go back, would Deeks do it again? Deep down, Deeks feared that the answer could be yes.

"All right," Agent Nerring said, shuffling the papers together. "Now let's talk about Agent Talia Del Campo."

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**I really thought that Deeks's own decisions during Spoils of War had to be addressed- they were almost as important as Kensi's since we all got the answer to that question "how far would he go?" That was pretty dang far and that picture scene almost broke my heart!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Thanks soooo much to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited this story! You guys rock! This half of the interrogation is much lighter, now that Afghanistan is out of the way. The next chapter is going to be the last and deal with Kensi and Deeks discussing his decision to leave the LAPD. I hope you enjoy!**

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Deeks groaned. He remembered Kensi saying the exact same thing after first meeting Talia. It was going to be interesting to see which conversation about the DEA agent would be more painful. "Why?"

"She was another one of your recent partners."

"I was also recent partners with Agents Callen and Hanna. Are you going to ask about them too?"

Agent Nerring cleared his throat, tugging slightly on his red tie. "Agent Del Campo also frequents NCIS as a liason with the team from the DEA on occasion."

"Are you comparing me and Agent Del Campo or Agent Del Campo and Agent Blye? Because if it's me and her, then I'd say that we both are expert liasers and if it's her and Agent Blye, then both have a hobby of kicking serious butt and having an aversion to hospitals."

"Both appear to also fit your "type" so to speak." Agent Nerring noted.

That brought a small smile to Deeks. Hearing stone cold fox Kensi Blye argue that "she is too Deeks's type" was the easily one of the best moments of his life. "Personally, I believe that I'm too complex to have a specific "type" so to speak. I've dated women across the board- blonde, brunette, a few red-heads, an Indian, a Britain, even a Canadian..."

"Regardless, of types, Agent Del Campo is a beautiful woman."

"Angelina Jolie is another beautiful woman, but I don't hear you asking about her."

Agent Nerring sighed. "Detective, must I really explain myself?"

"Yes."

"Were you ever intimately involved with Agent Del Campo?"

Deeks nearly snickered. Talia was like Kensi in multiple ways- both spunky brunettes, both independent, both charming, both fond of punching Deeks in the shoulder (Kensi a little moreso). But Deeks didn't consider Talia his partner. He didn't stay up at night thinking about her. He didn't have movie nights at her house. He didn't call her "Princess" or "Fern" or "Kensalina" (how would that even work? Talialina? Talina?). You could give Deeks a thousand female partners and none could ever come close to replacing Kensi Blye. "No. Were you ever intimately involved with Agent Del Campo?"

"You are aware of the fact that Agent Del Campo has been involved in a work relationship before, correct?"

"I am definitely not unaware of Agent Del Campo's potential non-partnerships or relationships." Deeks said. "But how is this relevant?"

"The LAPD believe that you are leaving for personal reasons. If that's the case, then they are planning to sue as a violation of a work contract." Agent Nerring snapped. "If a mistake occurs once, it's likely to occur again."

"Wow. What a negative point of view. You're definitely a glass half-empty type of guy, huh? You are aware of the fact that people can change right?"

"On the record," Agent Nerring stated, ignoring Deeks's quip, "Agent Del Campo states that she finds you quite attractive. How do you feel about that?"

"My ego feels pretty good, thanks for asking." It was official. Kensi's interrogation about Talia was _definitely _the worse than Agent Nerring's.

At the present, said agent was discovering that he had to grasp for more and more straws regarding Agent Del Campo. "In the report here, Agents Blye and Del Campo were involved in an heated argument in the middle of a rescue mission to recover Agents Hanna and Callen. Care to comment?"

Deeks grimaced at the memory. The catfight hadn't been pretty, but deep down Deeks couldn't help but get a HUGE ego boost. And of course there wasn't anything hotter than an angry, possessive Kensi. "You know, if you're really still asking if Agent Del Campo and I ever 'hooked up' then you're worse at your job than I thought." Seriously. The amount of people who thought that he and Talia would ever actually become intimate was ridiculous. "Off the record though, Agent Blye totally owned Agent Del Campo. It might have something to do with our line of work or the fact that she's used to fighting off women who are undeniably attracted to me."

"So there is something going on between you two?"

"Not at all. But it is Agent Blye's job to dispose of any potential distractions and many of them made themselves quite available to me and-"

"I don't have any time to waste discussing your ego!"

"Yet you think I have time to waste talking to a half-baked agent?"

Agent Nerring's face turned bright red. "I'll have you know that I was special picked for this assignment and I will not let you-"

"Were you specially picked because you were accused of having an affair with a co-worker? Since you still have your job, I assume it was never confirmed."

"This line of questioning is unacceptable,"

"No. I'm gonna stop you right there. I want you to pay very close attention to what I'm about to say and be sure to write it down word for word in your report. I can make just as much of a difference as an Agent as I did when I was a detective. The decision to leave the LAPD was _mine_ and mine alone. No one else made the decision for me- not Callen or Sam or Hetty or even Kensi. _I _decided to leave. And _nothing_ can convince me to stay, not any cop, not any director, not any interrogation, and _especially _not you." Deeks said, beginning to stand up. "It's time that I get back to my team."

He made it to the door before Agent Nerring managed to sputter, "Detective Deeks,"

Deeks turned around, putting a hand up. "It's _Agent_ Deeks now."

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**I just had to make an allusion to the promised catfight in the coming opening episode! I hope you all liked it- please review if you have a few seconds!**


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all, I want to thank Hoosier65, Guest, DensiLovestory, MoKhan97, blue dogs rock, TinkerBella7, anonkp, and ncistony97 for all of your kind reviews! And also everyone who favorited and followed The Interrogation! You guys are the best!**

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Deeks threw open the door of the small room-and almost slammed it into Hetty.

He yelped in surprise, quickly pulling back the door. "Hetty! Didn't see you there. Sorry."

Hetty smiled. "Not a problem Mr. Deeks. I only suggest that you be more careful when deciding to swing doors open at such a fast pace."

"Suggestion noted," Deeks said, scratching behind his ear. "Were you in there listening or..."

"Do you believe I was?"

"Is that a rhetorical question? Because if you're testing me to see if I believe that you're a ninja than yes, but if you're testing me to see if I think you're overstepping your boundaries, then no."

Hetty stared at Deeks for a moment before saying, "I need to talk to you for a moment."

Deeks laughed nervously. "If you want to chat, we can just chat right here, no need to go to-"

"My office Mr. Deeks," Hetty said, walking down the stairs.

Deeks groaned inwardly as he followed. "I feel like I'm going to the principal's office."

"My office is far more sophisticated than a principal's." Hetty chastised as they walked across the hall.

"Of course. With all of your fancy tea sets and quality made chair and desk and-"

"All of which, were imported from across the sea." Hetty stated. She sat down into her chair and poured a cup of tea.

Deeks took the seat across from Hetty's, nervously fidgeting.

"You know, I have just the kind of tea that would help ease your nerves. It's from a fine Peruvian plant that only grows in the mountaintops."

"Do you have a tea for everything?"

"I have yet to come across a situation in which tea cannot help." Hetty said, taking a brief sip. "But that's not what we are here to discuss, is it?"

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough."

"Then you know that I showed Agent Nerring who's boss...or I guess who's a better agent. Either way the answer would be me,"

"It seems to me," Hetty said slowly, "that you have some ghosts from Afghanistan still following you around."

Deeks made a face. "I guess you could say that,"

"Don't try to lie to me Mr. Deeks. It won't work. I know everything."

The thought almost made Deeks cringe. It seemed unlikely that anyone would know about temporarily throwing out his morals, but if anyone would know, it would be Hetty. "I don't know what happened to me."

"There comes a point when we all surprise ourselves with how much potential we have, for good _and_ bad. But those are the moments when we can learn the most about ourselves." Hetty said. "You're not a bad man, Mr. Deeks. I wouldn't have hired you if I thought you were. But you cannot bottle up your emotions like another talented agent we know. You must confront them head on in order to learn."

Deeks smiled. Hetty really did know everything. "Thanks,"

"Not a problem, Agent Deeks."

Deeks got up from the chair and walked towards OPS, as Callen, Sam, and Kensi walked down.

"Where were you?" Kensi asked.

"In the middle of an interrogation."

"Eric didn't tell us we had a suspect already in custody." Callen said.

"It was a little more like the other way around."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

Deeks grinned. "Let's just say that the LAPD love me more than I thought. While it did wonders for my ego, I must say that overall, it was a waste of time. But I certainly showed Nosy Nerring a thing or two about how to interrogate a stubborn suspect."

"Agent Nerring from IA?" Callen asked, eyebrow raised.

"I think I'm gonna call him Nosy Nerring from now on, or maybe Tommy Boy, or Tom Tom, or-"

"Okay. We get the point. You're very creative with nicknames." Kensi said, rolling her eyes.

"You know that best, don'tcha sugar bear? Princess? Kensalina? Fern?"

"G, come on. We're leaving before they forget we're here and start making out or something." Sam said.

Callen perked up. "Can I drive?"

"Not until you stop driving like you know it's my car."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean you drive recklessly because you know it makes me nervous. If you want to drive, take your own car and risk denting it in a high speed chase." Sam argued. "Kensi, would you ever let this goofball drive your car?"

"I think you mean ruggedly handsome adonis god," Deeks corrected.

"I think Sam's description was closer." Kensi said, punching Deeks in the shoulder. "And no, I don't let Deeks drive. Last time he did, he almost slammed the driver door into a civilian."

"How does that even happen?" Callen asked.

"That man was blind, I swear." Deeks argued. "It wasn't my fault!"

"Neither you nor Deeks will ever drive." Sam said, looking pointedly at the two. "End of conversation."

"Aw, Sam just went all father on us." Deeks said. "How adorable."

Sam and Callen walked away, laughing.

Deeks turned to Kensi, eyes merry. "Ready to go partner?"

"Yeah, let's go." She said, walking out the door. "What did Agent Nerring actually talk about?"

Deeks's smile faded. _You must confront them head on in order to learn._ "He asked me about our thing."

Kensi stopped walking. "Why?"

"He thought I left becaues of you. If I had, the LAPD would have tried to use some small partner/personal clause in my contract to get me back or something. Honestly, it's one of the weakest tricks in the book and no judge I know in LA would ever use it to keep me working there." Deeks said. "It's pathetic, really."

"That sounds stupid. You're a grown man. You can make your own decisions."

"I know. Nothing can stop me from working for NCIS now." Deeks cleared his throat, looking nervous. "He, he also asked about Afghanistan."

Kensi's face paled a bit. "What'd he say?"

"He asked me...he asked me how far I would have gone to get you back. And in the moment, I had the answer but now...I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

Deeks took a deep breath. "For the longest time, I thought that everything was my fault, thought that you had been sent there because of my decision to take things further. And-"

"You mean _we _made the decision. You're the one who's always saying that relationships are a two way street. It was our decision, Deeks. You didn't pressure me into anything."

"Knowing that didn't change anything for me. If anything, I should have been the one to leave, not you. At the time I wasn't even technically part of the team yet you were the one who was reassigned and it happened immediately after and Hetty knows everything and I really felt guilty for the longest time and-"

Kensi shut him up with a kiss. "I love you Deeks. Me leaving for Afghanistan had nothing to do with you. Or us. Or our thing. Okay?"

Deeks nodded, eyes wide trying to remember the last time she did that. "I love it when you do that."

Kensi rolled her eyes. "Now what were you saying about Afghanistan?"

"When I first heard that you were missing, my heart literally stopped for a solid five seconds. Then when Callen and Sam refused to let me help them look for you and dropped me off at this stupid cleric's house I was angry. Sargent BLANK said that war makes people do things, things they never would have considered before and I didn't believe him." Deeks swallowed nervously. "I was desperate for answers Kens. I needed to find you and take you away and apologize for everything. You were literally all I could think about. And it wasn't long before I started tempting the old priest by cooking food. Compared to what I had gone through, it seemed like nothing. But then I...after Hetty sent me that picture of you...dead, I lost it."

Kensi gripped Deeks's hand in her own. "It's okay Deeks. You can tell me."

"I punched him, screamed at him about torturing women and yelling about the backwards principles of the Karan. And I came so close, a few seconds away from shooting him. The only reason I didn't was because I wanted he was my only chance at getting you back. Then, I...waterboarded him. I didn't care if it worked. I didn't care if I was fired. I didn't care if Sargent BLANK shot me. All I cared about was...was getting you back." Deeks said, voice cracking. "I stopped halfway, when I realized what I was doing. It was after that when I started thinking instead of trying to punch my way through."

Kensi pulled Deeks into a hug. "It's okay Deeks. You did what you thought was best. Obviously it wasn't, but you're a good man."

Deeks buried his face into her dark hair, breathing her in. "Hetty said something similar."

"And Hetty's always right. Now I want you to look at me. Do you remember what you told me after you decided to come back to work regardless of what Siderov did to you?"

Deeks nodded.

"You told me that I was the place you went to when you were in trouble, that I was the only person you could think about when it was happening." Kensi said. "The same thing happened to me in Afghanistan. When I was stuck in that stupid, small cave, the only thing I could think about was you. Even with Jack literally right next to me. I could only remember how patient and sweet and kind you were with me the night before I left. I was so nervous and scared and worried about being left again and you were still there. The only reason I punched you when you didn't shoot that guy was because I was worried that if we couldn't do our work, then we would have to stop seeing each other. Sorry about that, by the way."

Deeks kissed her right then and there. "That is one of the most beautiful things you've ever said to me I think. You never apologize."

Kensi laughed. "Don't get used to it." She warned, lightly punching Deeks again. "Now come on, we have to a crime scene to evaluate."

"Okay. Shotgun!"

"There's no other spot for you to take, Shaggy."

"Nuh uh! When you're mad at me, you make me sit in the back of the car like you did after I lied to you that one time."

"Then don't lie to me and you get shotgun. Easy fix."

Deeks grinned. "Off the record, just so you know, I left the LAPD because I didn't want there to be a chance that I would have to go on an undercover op without you, or to get pulled away last minute or something. I don't want to leave you or make you feel that I left you. My decision to leave the LAPD didn't just have something to do with you, it was everything."

Kensi's face softened. After a couple of moments, she said, "Fine...you, you can drive."

"Yeehaw!" Deeks jumped up in the air, attempting to click his heels together. He wasn't going for any type of reward, but he wasn't going to refuse it either. Driving Kensi's car was as rare as her apologies. "Just for that, I'm making those pecan waffles you really like for the next three days."

"You better drive at least five under the speed limit."

"Course Princess. Whoo hoo! LA look out! Deeks is in the drivers seat!"

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**That's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


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